What does spasm mean?

What does spasm mean? Many of our friends don’t know. In fact, spasm is what we usually call cramps. Cramps are indeed a very uncomfortable process and can be very painful. Spasms are generally a manifestation of muscles suddenly being unable to move as planned and feeling severe pain, and sometimes even twitching. Many friends will experience this phenomenon when they stay in a posture for a long time. This is called spasm.

Cramps can also occur after exercise. If you stop to rest directly after a lot of exercise without giving the muscles a buffering time and movement, it can easily cause muscle cramps. Many friends can only endure the severe pain and don’t know what to do. However, experienced friends will find ways to adjust their movements to effectively reduce pain and slowly restore muscle condition. Let us learn about cramps.

Causes of spasms

①Cold stimulation. Exercising in a cold environment in winter without sufficient warm-up, or swimming in low water temperatures in summer can easily cause leg cramps. If you don't cover yourself with a blanket when you sleep at night, your calf muscles will be stimulated by the cold and will cramp so much that you will wake up in pain.

② Muscles contract too quickly and continuously. During strenuous exercise, the whole body is in a state of tension, the leg muscles contract too quickly, the relaxation time is too short, the local metabolic product lactic acid increases, the muscle contraction and relaxation are difficult to coordinate, thus causing calf muscle cramps.

③Excessive sweating. The exercise time is long, the amount of exercise is large, and there is a lot of sweating, but the salt is not replenished in time. A large amount of fluid and electrolytes are lost in the body, metabolic waste accumulates, and the local blood circulation of the muscles is poor, which is also prone to cramps.

④Excessive fatigue. The calf muscles are most susceptible to fatigue when traveling long distances, climbing mountains, or climbing heights. Because every time you climb up, one foot supports the weight of the whole body. The strength required for the muscles of this leg to lift the foot will be six times the body weight of the person. When it is fatigued to a certain extent, cramps will occur.

⑤ Calcium deficiency. Calcium ions play an important role in muscle contraction. When the calcium ion concentration in the blood is too low, muscles become easily excited and cramp. Teenagers grow and develop rapidly and are easily deficient in calcium, which is why they often suffer from leg cramps.

⑥ Upper motor neuron damage. The central inhibitory effect on peripheral nerves weakens or disappears, causing increased muscle tone and even muscle spasms.

Cramp prevention

① Pay attention to supplementing calcium and vitamin D. You can take calcium tablets or eat calcium-rich foods such as dried shrimps, milk, and soy products.

② Strengthen physical exercise and do sufficient warm-up exercises during exercise to make the body move. This will help the blood circulation in the lower limbs to be smooth, and you can avoid leg cramps when participating in various intense sports or competitions.

③ Pay attention to keeping warm and prevent local muscles from getting cold.

Emergency treatment

Whenever you have leg cramps, you can immediately grab the big toe on the cramped side with your hand, then slowly straighten your foot, and then stretch your leg forcefully, and the calf muscle will stop cramping. Alternatively, you can use both hands to vigorously massage your calf, which will also be effective.

If leg cramps occur frequently, you should seek medical treatment.

The simplest thing is to relax when you have a cramp, then slowly straighten your leg.

Everyone knows what spasm means, and the emergency treatment introduced above is also relatively effective. If you encounter spasms in your daily life, you can give yourself emergency treatment according to the above reminders, which can effectively alleviate the symptoms of spasm and get rid of the pain as soon as possible.